The Idea of Marathon: Battle and Culture

Description

The Battle of Marathon changed the course of history in ancient Greece. To many, the impossible seemed to have been achieved – the mighty Persian Empire halted in its advance. What happened that day, why was the battle fought, and how did people make sense of it? This bold new history of the battle examines how the conflict unfolded and the ideas attached to it in antiquity and beyond. Many thought the battle offered lessons in how people should behave, with heroism to be emulated and faults to be avoided. While the battle itself was fought in one day, the battle for the idea of Marathon has lasted ever since. After immersing you in the battle, this work will help you to explore how the ancient Athenians used the battle in their relations between themselves and others, and how the battle continued to be used to express ideas about gods, empire, and morality in the age of Alexander and his successors, at Rome and in Greece under the Roman Empire, and in the ages after antiquity, even in our own era, in which Marathon plays a remarkable role in sport, film, and children’s literature with each retelling a re-imagining of the battle and its meaning. A clash of weapons, gods, and principles, this is Marathon as you’ve never seen it before! Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Illustrations Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction A day of blood and fire Herodotus 1 Athenians at a Turning Point Athens before the Graeco-Persian Wars The Cimonids Wider society 2 The Greek World On being Greek Life in Sparta Life in Boeotia Ionia Lydia Persians in Ionia 3 Persia Who are the Persians? Persia under Cyrus II Clothing and arms The rise of Darius Key personalities 4 Revolt in Ionia The temptation of Naxos Finding allies Revolt unfolds The fall-out Motives 5 The Plain of Marathon Momentum builds The plain Final decisions at Athens 6 The Fight Gods at war The armies prepare Cavalry Debate Herodotus’ battle narrative 7 Surviving Marathon The wounded The spoils The dead 8 Events after Marathon Persia Athens Paros Political dominoes A new invasion The Persians 9 Memories of Marathon in Fifth-Century Art and Literature Picturing Marathon A new era Writing Marathon Dramatists The end of the century 10 Marathon beyond the Fifth Century New Graeco-Persian Wars The orators New histories Athens in the face of Macedon Alexander Polybius 11 Marathon under Rome Greek culture under Rome Plutarch Self-sacrifice Herodes Atticus 1,000 years 12 Marathon after Antiquity Travellers Ideals and associations Youth culture Marathon running The Colonels and the Shah Young people’s Marathon in the twenty-first century Afterword Notes Bibliography Index